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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22929508">Joy</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anon581/pseuds/Anon581'>Anon581</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Sanditon (TV 2019), Sanditon - Jane Austen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Marriage</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 06:55:24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,757</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22929508</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anon581/pseuds/Anon581</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A sexy little glimpse into Charlotte and Sidney's marriage six months in.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Charlotte Heywood/Sidney Parker</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>179</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Joy</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I left everyone crying at the bottom of a cliff last time so I'm here to make amends.  A tale so light it could float away. 😉</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>On the way home from the ball Sidney had been carefully outlining to Charlotte his plans for the rest of the evening.  He spoke in his deep, even tone of details that made her blush most thoroughly.  When they arrived home he opened the door for her with a gentlemanly flourish and then chased her inside.  She squealed, ducking to the side to evade his grasp but of course he quickly caught her and pulled her into his embrace kissing her passionately.  He pinned her up against the wall in the front hall and holding her there with his hips, removed his jacket and vest.  All the while he looked at her with a crooked smile, eyebrows arched.  Charlotte giggled.  As soon as he discarded his outer garments on the floor he planted his face into her neck, kissing a trail up and down. </p><p>“Ah, Mr and Mrs Parker, I...oh! I, uh, heartily apologize!”  The flustered butler backed down the hall.  Sidney rolled his eyes and softly chuckled, “Mr Reed, please let the staff know we will not need their assistance for the remainder of the evening."  Charlotte hid her face in Sidney’s chest, blushing and giggling.  </p><p>They had a habit of getting caught by the servants in compromising positions.  The first time it had happened Charlotte was truly mortified.  She had gone to Sidney's study to discuss some Sanditon business and Sidney had pulled her onto him, straddling his lap.  Mr Reed happened upon them as he came up with the tea service.  Charlotte didn't know what to do, she almost fell off Sidney's lap, she was so embarrassed but he held her there and thanked Reed as if nothing was amiss.</p><p>"Oh, how horrifying! What will he ever think?!" </p><p>"Perhaps that most horrid thing, that we are a deeply happy married couple."</p><p>"Oh but Sidney that is for you and I to experience, not Mr Reed!". Charlotte was near tears in her embarrassment.  </p><p>"My dearest, marital love is a fact of life that most servants are very well accustomed to seeing.  It is quite common". Sidney did not add that before their wedding, as he was setting up their household, he specifically sought out employees that would be discreet and loyal in this regard.  The scenario was addressed delicately to promising applicants and their response was his deciding factor.  He didn't want Charlotte to think he was being presumptuous but he also felt and frankly hoped that they might have a married life whose passion overflowed from the bed chamber.  </p><p>"So if I were to ask Mary and Esther if their servants caught them in indecent situations they would tell me yes, all the time?" Charlotte teased.</p><p>"Oh yes, certainly, certainly. Fact of life. Just don't ask.  I don't want them to think poorly of us" He shifted his eyes pretending to look guilty and then burst out laughing as she playfully smacked his arm.</p><p>"But truly, Sidney, I feel that I will be made out to be a harlot in my own home."</p><p>"No one can shame a woman who loves and is loved by her husband so much.  And in all earnestness Charlotte, my love, we know how close we were to spending our lives apart.  We have been given the gift of seeing the other side.  Why would we not enjoy this life to the fullest?"</p><p>She leaned in and kissed him softly.  "On that point, I cannot argue.  Perhaps we can just be more careful about closing doors."</p><p>A week later the cook learned that hushed laughing in the kitchen late at night was not to be blamed on young, foolish servants but the man and lady of the house, raiding the pantry in their dressing gowns.  The gardener started pruning the giant lilac bush in a manner that created a private recess.  They seemed to like that spot, he felt he may as well make it comfortable.  It became a known, and only slightly gossiped about, aspect of working for the Parker's.  But in the end, their employees knew that working for a happy couple made for a happy household and didn't mind having to be a little flexible when their potential work space was otherwise occupied.</p><p>Charlotte felt emboldened now that Reed had been told the staff's services were no longer needed for the evening.  She reached down and pulled Sidney's shirt up over his head.  Her hands stroked his toned body and she began kissing along his collarbone.  Sidney leaned down and they kissed deeply, joyfully.  His hands started roaming restlessly around her waist and under her breasts.  Charlotte softly giggled within their kiss.  Sidney's hands traveled further up, cupping her breasts.  She giggled again.  She knew what was coming.  He started tugging gently at her bodice.  No give.  He tried to fit his hand down into her low neckline but it was all just too tight.</p><p>He groaned in frustration and then pulling her even closer growled, "How many times must I tell you to stop wearing these blasted corsets!"  Charlotte laughed loudly. </p><p>"And what would you do, dear husband, if when dancing with your wife her dress could not contain her?"</p><p>"Oh I should enjoy the view so much that I don't know if I would be able to do anything at all." He smirked as he kissed and nuzzled her decolletage.</p><p>"Mr Parker, you must be the most wicked…". Charlotte shrieked as Sidney scooped her up and carried her into the parlor.  He placed her on the sofa and gently began the careful job of unbuttoning and unlacing the back of her gown and corset.  He kissed her neck and nibbled her ear as he worked.  </p><p>Tonight, six months into their marriage, was the first time they had come across Mrs Campion, now Lady Braxton.  They had nodded stiffly and exchanged a brief greeting if only to avoid any rumors of bad feelings.  Charlotte didn't tell Sidney that later she had another, more unpleasant encounter when Eliza found her alone along the wall.</p><p>"Well if it isn't the innocent, blushing new bride of Mr Parker.  How very happy I am for you both." Eliza gushed in a voice dripping with saccharine sarcasm.  </p><p>"How do you do Lady Braxton?" Charlotte asked politely.</p><p>Eliza leaned in, inches from Charlotte's ear.  "He loved me when I was young too.  But alas, we must all age and that does not seem to be his taste in women.  I will think of you with fond pity when I start hearing the gossip that he's drinking and gambling and visiting the brothels.  He will you know, just like he did before. You forget how well I know Sidney.". Her use of his Christian name made Charlotte wince.  "And oh my dear, how this city loves to talk about a fallen man and his forgotten wife.".   She patted Charlotte's hand in mock compassion and walked back into the glittering crowd as if nothing had happened.</p><p>Charlotte swallowed hard.  Her eyes brimmed with tears but she quickly realized that they weren't tears of fear.  The sting was from anger, that someone could speak so poorly of her loyal and loving husband.  No, Mrs Campion did not know Sidney and how dare she use the intimacy of his first name.  Sidney's unhappiness had stemmed from Mrs Campion's careless abuse.  Was she so selfish that she didn't see that or so selfish that she didn't care?  She wouldn't speak a word of this to Sidney.  He would feel guilt and anger, not knowing how to defend his wife in a dignified way against his ex fiance.  No, this was no longer between him and his old flame, now Charlotte would be happy to take Mrs Campion on in the future  if the need arose.</p><p>In the parlor Sidney was reaching the end of the buttons.  Charlotte reached behind her into his lap.  Her palm rested on his hardness feeling the throbbing heat.  His own hands stopped, hovering in place as he dropped his head back and exhaled, unable to focus on anything but her touch.  </p><p>Charlotte had been shocked and a bit frightened when she beheld him undressed on their wedding night.  This was not what she had seen at the beach.  She couldn't bring herself to say anything, too embarrassed to put it into words.  Sidney noticed her surprise and discomfort and chuckled.  "Ah, I believe when you ambushed me on the beach I may have appeared a little different due to the cold water.  And of course the lack of a very beautiful and stirring bride before me.".  He was gentle and kind and slow.  Charlotte's apprehension was quickly replaced by something else entirely.</p><p>His hands began to move again, with more urgency and purpose.  Charlotte's bodice dropped.  "Ha!" He exhaled a combination of a laugh and sigh.</p><p>They laughed a lot.  After their tumultuous early relationship and then the intense drama that forced them apart Charlotte felt that maybe they weren't compatible after all.  Maybe it was all simply attraction and tension, just the excitement of first love for her and rediscovery of love for Sidney.  When he broke off the engagement to Eliza and sought Charlotte out she was thrilled but cautious.  They waited a year to get married.  Sidney had bristled at the idea at first.  He was ready immediately but Charlotte wanted time to see what their dynamic would be like as an actual couple.  She was relieved to find how much joy they found in each other, how easy it was to be together.  Arthur confided in her before the wedding that sadly he had never really felt a true connection to his brother.  They were so different, it often felt like they weren't even related.  But once Sidney and Charlotte were affianced Sidney's lust for life and laughter came bursting to the surface.  He still had his same confidence and swagger but he now also had a zest that mirrored Arthur's and helped forge an unexpected bond between them.</p><p>In the end, it seemed all of their relationships, all of their happiness flourished once they were free to be together.  It was as if the world had just been waiting to open up before them.  Sidney had been so right, why wouldn't they make the most of this life together.  She dropped back on the sofa pulling him down with her.  He was above her, around her and then in her.  She gasped and let out a quick laugh of joy.  "Thank God I am yours."</p>
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